Incredible Photos Of Immigrants Arriving At Ellis Island

A Historical Document Of Unprecedented Worth

It is believed that the people in Sherman’s photographs were detainees who were waiting for a travel ticket, to exchange money, or for someone to pick them up on the island. The incredible images were published by National Geographic in 1907. They were also displayed at the federal Immigration Service’s lower Manhattan headquarters.

Sherman’s photographs were also made public in the 2005 book, August F. Sherman: Ellis Island Portraits 1905-1920. Dubbed as “a historical document of unprecedented worth,” the book includes 100 portraits that show the stream of immigrants who passed through Ellis Island at the turn of the century and later.